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March 31, 1964 w. w. TAYLOR, JR., ETAL 3,126,773

TUBE BENDING TOOL ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 7, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 William M. Taylor I John 7? Cooper 1N VENTORS BY %ym-a%m March 31, 1964 w. w. TAYLOR, JR., ETAL 3,125,773

TUBE BENDING TOOL ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 7, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 William W. Taylor John 7. Cooper 1 N VE N TOR 5 United States Patent .0

3,126,773 TUBE BENDING TOOL ASSEMBLY William W. Taylor, In, 5977 Cyrus Ave., Baton Rouge, La., and John T. Cooper, 4668 Windside Drive, Baker,

Filed Sept. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 230,306 Claims. (Cl. 81-15) This invention relates to a novel and useful hand tube bending tool assembly and more specifically to a hand tool which may be utilized to form various types of simple and compound curves in tubing.

The tube bending tool assembly of the instant invention is similar in some respects to conventional types of portable and hand-operated tube bending tools such as that disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,757,562. However, most conventional tube bending tools are capable of forming tubing bends having a maximum curvature of approximately 180 degrees. These conventional types of handoperated tube bending tools include a body member which defines a semi-circular and outwardly opening groove. The body means is provided with a means by which one end of a section of tubing may be secured in one end of the groove defined by the body and an abutment member is swingably mounted for rotation about an axis defining the center of curvature of the semi-circular groove and is registered with the groove and spaced slightly outwardly thereof whereby the abutment member may be swung around the groove in order to cam the free end portion of the tubing into the groove thereby forming the desired bend in the tube. However, inas much as the groove formed in the body of the tool is semi-circular, only slightly more than a 180 degree bend may be formed in a section of tubing since the free ends of the tubing being bent would abut each other if a bend of more than 180 degrees were formed.

It is accordingly the main object of this invention to provide a hand-operated tube bending tool which will be capable of forming bends in tubing of at least 360 degrees.

A further object of this invention, in accordance with the preceding object, is to provide a hand-operated tube bending tool which will be capable of forming a coiled section in a section of tubing.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a tube bending tool in accordance with the preceding objects having means thereon indicating the number of degrees in the bend being formed in a section of tubing.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a tool in accordance with the preceding objects and including means by which a series of angularly disposed curves may be formed in a section of tubing.

A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide a hand-operated tube bending tool assembly in accordance with the preceding objects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will be economically feasible, longlasting and relatively trouble-free in operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the tube bending tool;

FIGURE 2 is a side-elevational view of the tube bending tool;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side-elevational view of the tube bending tool similar to that of FIGURE 2 but showing the reverse side of the tool and the tool in position with a section of tubing engaged therewith ready to be utilized to form a bend in the tubing section;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are fragmentary side-elevational views similar to that of FIGURE 3 but showing the tube bending tool in successive steps of forming a bend in the section of tubing engaged therewith;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by section line 6-6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by section line 7--7 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the body of the tube bending tool;

FIGURE 9 is an exploded perspective view of the body of the tube bending tool shown with the retaining claw removed and spaced from the body of the tool; and

FIGURE 10 is an exploded perspective view of the tool with the compression spring and abutment shown in FIGURES 1 and 6 removed.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings the numeral 10 generally designates the tube bending tool of the instant invention. The tube bending tool 10 comprises a body generally referred to by the reference numeral 12 which has a coiled semi-circular groove formed therein opening radially outwardly of and extending circurnferentially about the center axis of the body 12 defined by the longitudinal axis of the bore 14 formed through the body 12. The groove 16 extends substantially a full 360 degrees about the bore 14 and a pivot shaft 18 is rotatably and slidably received in the bore 14.

One end of the pivot shaft 18, which projects outwardly of one side of the body 12, is provided with a pair of axially spaced and diametrically enlarged annular flanges 20 and 22 defining a groove 24 therebetween. The side of the body 12 through which the end of the pivot shaft 18 provided with the groove 24 projects is designated by the reference numeral 26 and has a circular recess 28 formed therein for the reception of the flange 22. Additionally, the side 26 of the body 12 defines a circular ramp or a coiled cam surface 36).

The pivot shaft 18 projects outwardly of the other side 32 of the body 12 and is slidably received through a bore 34 formed in a first handle 36. The handle 36 extends generally radially of the bore 14 and includes a pair of transverse bores 38 and 40 which slidably receive the outer ends of positioning pins 42 and 44 respectively that are threadedly engaged in threaded blind bores 46 and 48 formed in side 32. The bores 34, 38 and 40 are spaced longitudinally of the handle 36 and it may therefore be seen that the handle 36 is secured to the body 12 for rotation therewith.

The free end of the pivot shaft 18 which projects outwardly of the side 32 of the body 12 and through the handle 36 is provided with an abutment 50 and an antifriction washer 52 is disposed about the shaft 18 inwardly of the abutment 50. In addition, a compression spring 54 is disposed about the shaft 18 between the handle 36 and the washer 52 thereby normally biasing the end of the shaft 18 to which the abutment 50 is secured outwardly of and away from the body 12. This of course tends to urge the flange 22 in seated engagement with the recess 28. However, a lever 56 is provided with a recess 58 on one end by which that end of the lever 56 is rotatably journaled in the groove 24 and the other end of the lever 56 has an abutment 60 formed thereon which is in registry with the groove 16 and defines a generally semicylindrical saddle portion which opens toward the groove 16. The free end of the lever 56 also has one end of a second handle 62 secured thereto and it will be noted from FIGURE 1 of the drawings that the handles 36 and 62 are disposed in planes which are generally parallel and extend transversely of the longitudinal axis of the pivot shaft 18.

A slot 64 is formed in the side 32 of the body 12 and 7 extends along a cord of the groove 16 and terminates at one end of the groove 16. Retaining means in the form of an elongated hook 66 is provided and one end of the hook 66 is suitably apertured as at 68 and is secured in the inner end of the slot 64 by means of pivot pin '70 whose opposite ends are received in alignedbores 72 and 74 formed in the body 12 on opposite sides of the inner end of the slot 64. Thus, it may be seen that the hooked end 76 of the elongated hook 66 is swingable laterally of the end of the groove 16 at which the outer end of the slot 64 terminates. The hooked end 76 of the elongated hook 66 may be utilized to engage one end of a tubing section 78 as shown in FIGURE 7 of the drawings. Then, with the semi-cylindrical saddle portion 60 engaging the outer surfaces of the portion of the tubing section 78 first disposed in the groove 16, the handle 62 may be swung in a clock-wise direction as viewed in FIGURE 3 of the drawings relative to the handle 36 through the position illustrated in FIGURE 4 and to the position illustrated in FIGURE 5 in order to form a 135 degree bend in the tubing section 73. Of course, the handle 62 could be swung a full 360 degrees in order to form a coil in the tubing section 78. Inasmuch as the groove 16 is coiled and does not lie in a single plane, more than a 180 degree bend may be formed in the tubing section 78.

The hooked end 76 of the elongated hook 66 is provided with a pointer 80 which is registrable with the indicia 82 formed on the side 26 of the body 12.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A tube bending tool assembly including body means defining a coiled groove opening radially outwardly of and extending circumferentially about the center axis of said body means defined by and centrally located relative to said groove, means carried by said body means adapted to engage the outer surface of a section of pipe seated in one end of said groove and to prevent movement of the adjacent portions of said pipe section radially outwardly of said groove, abutment means swingably mounted on said body means for rotation about said axis, in alignment with and outwardly of said groove and including means adapted to slidingly engage the outer surface of said pipe section and to cam said section into said groove as said abutment means is swung about said axis, a first handle fixed relative to said body means and a second handle fixed relative to said abutment means, said handles being disposed in generally parallel planes extending transversely of and spaced along said axis, a pivot shaft rotatably journaled through said body means for rotation about said axis, said abutment means being carried by the free end of a lever arm whose other end is pivotally secured to an end of said pivot shaft projecting outwardly of one end of said body means, said pivot shaft being slidably journaled for axial shifting and said one end of said shaft including means defining a circumferential groove, said other end of said lever arm including a recess snugly and rotatably receiving said shaft at said circumferential groove, said one end of said body means including spiral cam means generally paralleling said lever arm for axially displacing the latter as it is swung about said axis whereby said abutment means will be maintained in registry with the coiled groove, the end of said shaft projecting outwardly of the other end of said body means including an abutment, a compression spring disposed about said shaft between said abutment and said body means normally biasing said shaft outwardly of said body means and thereby said lever arm into frictional engagement with said cam means.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said abutment means includes a generally semi-cylindrical saddle portion opening toward said groove and adapted to slidingly embrace the outer surfaces of said pipe section while camming said section into said groove.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means carried by said body means and adapted to engage the outer surface of a section of pipe is swingable laterally of said groove into and out of registry therewith.

4. A tube bending tool assembly including body means defining a coiled groove opening radially outwardly of and extending circumferentially about the center axis of said body means defined by and centrally located relative to said groove, means carried by said body means adapted to engage the outer surface of a section of pipe seated in one end of said groove and prevent movement of the adjacent portions of said pipe section radially outwardly of said groove, and abutment means swingably mounted on said body means for rotation about said axis, in alignment with and outwardly of said groove and including means adapted to slidingly engage the outer surface of said pipe section and to cam said pipe into said groove as said abutment means is swung about said axis, a first handle fixed relative to said body means and a second handle fixed relative to said abutment means, said handles being disposed in generally parallel planes and extending transversely of and spaced along said axis, a pivot shaft rotatably journaled and axially slidable through said body means for movement about and along said axis, said abut ment means being carried by the free end of a lever arm whose other end is pivotally secured to an end of said pivot shaft projecting outwardly of one end of said body means, said one end of said body means including spiral cam means generally paralleling said lever arm for axial displacement of the latter as it is swung about said axis whereby said abutment means will be maintained in registry with the coiled groove, the end of said shaft projecting outwardly of the other end of said body including an abutment, a compression spring disposed about said shaft between said abutment and said body means normally biasing said shaft outwardly of said body and thereby said lever arm into frictional engagement with said cam means.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said means carried by said body means is adapted to engage the outer surface of the sectional pipe swingable laterally of said groove into and out of registry therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,413,523 Shaw Dec. 31, 1946 2,428,237 McIntosh Sept. 30, 1947 2,464,800 Franck Mar. 22, 1949 2,702,066 Mathes Feb. 15, 1955 

1. A TUBE BENDING TOOL ASSEMBLY INCLUDING BODY MEANS DEFINING A COILED GROOVE OPENING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OF AND EXTENDING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ABOUT THE CENTER AXIS OF SAID BODY MEANS DEFINED BY AND CENTRALLY LOCATED RELATIVE TO SAID GROOVE, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID BODY MEANS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE OUTER SURFACE OF A SECTION OF PIPE SEATED IN ONE END OF SAID GROOVE AND TO PREVENT MOVEMENT OF THE ADJACENT PORTIONS OF SAID PIPE SECTION RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OF SAID GROOVE, ABUTMENT MEANS SWINGABLY MOUNTED ON SAID BODY MEANS FOR ROTATION ABOUT SAID AXIS, IN ALIGNMENT WITH AND OUTWARDLY OF SAID GROOVE AND INCLUDING MEANS ADAPTED TO SLIDINGLY ENGAGE THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID PIPE SECTION AND TO CAM SAID SECTION INTO SAID GROOVE AS SAID ABUTMENT MEANS IS SWUNG ABOUT SAID AXIS, A FIRST HANDLE FIXED RELATIVE TO SAID BODY MEANS AND A SECOND HANDLE FIXED RELATIVE TO SAID ABUTMENT MEANS, SAID HANDLES BEING DISPOSED IN GENERALLY PARALLEL PLANES EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF AND SPACED ALONG SAID AXIS, A PIVOT SHAFT ROTATABLY JOURNALED THROUGH SAID BODY MEANS FOR ROTATION ABOUT SAID AXIS, SAID ABUTMENT MEANS BEING CARRIED BY THE FREE END OF A LEVER ARM WHOSE OTHER END IS PIVOTALLY SECURED TO AN END OF SAID PIVOT SHAFT PROJECTING OUTWARDLY OF ONE END OF SAID BODY MEANS, SAID PIVOT SHAFT BEING SLIDABLY JOURNALED FOR AXIAL SHIFTING AND SAID ONE END OF SAID SHAFT INCLUDING MEANS DEFINING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVE, SAID OTHER END OF SAID LEVER ARM INCLUDING A RECESS SNUGLY AND ROTATABLY RECEIVING SAID SHAFT AT SAID CIRCUMFERENTIAL GROOVE, SAID ONE END OF SAID BODY MEANS INCLUDING SPIRAL CAM MEANS GENERALLY PARALLELING SAID LEVER ARM FOR AXIALLY DISPLACING THE LATTER AS IT IS SWUNG ABOUT SAID AXIS WHEREBY SAID ABUTMENT MEANS WILL BE MAINTAINED IN REGISTRY WITH THE COILED GROOVE, THE END OF SAID SHAFT PROJECTING OUTWARDLY OF THE OTHER END OF SAID BODY MEANS INCLUDING AN ABUTMENT, A COMPRESSION SPRING DISPOSED ABOUT SAID SHAFT BETWEEN SAID ABUTMENT AND SAID BODY MEANS NORMALLY BIASING SAID SHAFT OUTWARDLY OF SAID BODY MEANS AND THEREBY SAID LEVER ARM INTO FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CAM MEANS. 